Published 5:28 pm, Sunday, January 30, 2011

It’s didn’t take long for freshman Danesha Long to find out just how competitive the Western Junior College Athletic Conference is in women’s basketball.

While at times it may seem Long’s Midland College women’s basketball team is on the way to an easy victory, all of a sudden the opponent is making a nice run and pulls to within single digits. That can be quite a wake-up call for someone who was playing high school basketball at this time last year.

“The pace of the game is so much different than high school ball,” said the 5-foot-9 guard from Long Beach, Calif. “It’s like continued aggressiveness on both ends of the floor. You can’t let up at any time because teams just keep coming at you. You’ve got to be ready. Every night is competitive and you don’t get a day off. But it’s good and it’s fun. It makes me better and it makes our team better.”

Long expects her No. 18-ranked Lady Chaparrals (19-4, 4-1 in WJCAC) to be tested again tonight when they head west to Odessa College to face the Lady Wranglers (18-4, 4-2), who are coming off an impressive 60-45 victory at Howard College.

“I heard it’s going to be a big game and they’re probably going to be at their best,” she said. “I think it’s going to be really competitive and probably more aggressive than our past game against Western Texas (an 86-60 victory). Plus, it’s at their home court, so I know they’re going to be ready. All we can do is get ready for them and get that win, even though we know it won’t be easy.”

While Long had to get used to the pace of the college game, she has certainly been a bright spot for the Lady Chaparrals. With her quickness, athleticism and desire she is not only one of the most consistent players with the Lady Chaps but in the league.

“Since the beginning of the year she just seems real comfortable with the way we play, the tempo we play and for that reason she’s done well and I think she’s going to have a great future here and wherever she goes next,” said MC coach Ron Jones about his young guard. “What people don’t see is that she works as hard as anybody we have. She has a great attitude and talks and encourages her teammates probably better than anybody else. That makes it really nice when one of your better players is also one of your hardest workers.”

Long, who leads a balanced scoring team with 11.3 points to go with 5.2 rebounds per game, said she’s just trying to learn as much as she can and improve as a player.

“I’ve been working hard and all I’ve been trying to do is listen to coach Jones and do what he says,” she said. “He’s a good coach and a smart coach, and he knows what he’s doing because he’s being doing this for a long time.”

Jones thinks that Long could be even better and be a little more assertive at times. Still, Long said taking it to the basket and scoring has never really been much of a problem for her.

“I’ve been a leading scorer since I’ve been playing basketball,” she said. “I try to just let the game come to me. But it’s not about really scoring, it’s about winning and for the team. It’s not about me personally.”

Tonight will be more about the team for Long as the Lady Chaps take on one of their biggest rivals and a squad with more experience. Long is one of eight freshmen who sees action for MC.

“Coach Jones tells us that sometimes we get too complacent when we get a big lead, but the sophomores know that teams are going to continue to come at you and they’re still giving it their all,” Long said. “We just need to try to play great the entire 40 minutes and get a win.”